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Do you love the Richmond Zine Fest? Do you want to make sure it keeps on happening? Are there programming ideas that you’d like to see happen? Get involved in the planning of this annual event! The organizers of Richmond Zine Fest are holding an interest meeting for anyone who likes zines and zine events and would like to help us bring a little more of both to RVA. Click here for the Facebook event page.

I can’t remember when or where I picked up this zine, but it was in a stack of things I haven’t read yet. I have piles of books and zines around my apartment, and (re)discovering an item is kind of like finding money in the couch or from the pocket of a coat I didn’t wear for a year. You ever have one of those moments when you want to hug your past-self for making a decision you kind of forgot about? Reading this zine was a lot like that for me.

Drawn in a style that made me think of Lynda Barry, Every Single Thought is a comic that “chronicles the author’s attempt to get over an old relationship and come to terms with a saucy new label—SINGLE” (from the back of the zine). Corinne Mucha humorously approaches the topic of singledom from multiple angles—what it means, what it doesn’t mean, the rhyming words conspiracy, the Hollywood movie conspiracy, and what would Single Barbie do?

One of my favorite comic strips in this zine is a chart with a “How OK is it to Be Single” barometer that goes from Baby aka “very ok to be single… unless you meet another really cute baby” to 23 and onward, for which Mucha writes,

If you’re thinking about getting married, you should date someone! Not thinking about marriage? It’s still ok to look for a special person to live with forever, or a series of special people to enjoy committed, semi committed or non-committed relationships with. You choose!

It’s February, and I’m turning 28 on Sunday, so I guess that means I should officially join 2012. Or at the very least end the Website Winter Hiatus since we’re skipping that season this year.

We had our first meeting of the year this week and have a lot great ideas and enthusiasm. Thanks to everyone who continue to remind us why we love zines and holding a zine fest in Dirty Richmond!

New content you can look forward to on the blog: zine reviews and interviews, and maybe some other randomness in between the regular event announcements and photo uploads. I’ll try to be more consistent with the posting than I am on my personal blogs.

If I wasn’t so exhausted (and incredibly caffeinated) that day, I’d want to rewind to Saturday because being in that room was an amazing feeling. Thanks to everyone who attended, tabled, and led a workshop. Without you all that day wouldn’t have been the same. I seriously want to draw hearts around everyone’s faces in pictures above… but I won’t. :)

With Richmond Zine Fest only 3 days away, we thought we’d remind tablers, workshoppers, and attendees of a few things. This is a free event open to the public from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Because people are coming from different locations, the best way to find directions to the Gay Community Center of Richmond (GCCR) is through the following link: DIRECTIONS. Most Richmonders will recognize that it’s on the other side of Diversity Thrift. Please use the GCCR parking lot, which is much bigger than the thrift store parking lot.

There is an ATM available at the GCCR; however, if their machine is down, there’s a Wachovia at 3501 W. Broad St. and a Bank of America at 2601 W. Broad St. The GCCR and this event is for all ages, so there is no alcohol allowed inside the event. We thank you in advance for respecting this observation.

If you plan to be there all day, it’s probably best to bring some snacks and beverages. Otherwise, we’ll have delicious offerings from Lamplighter. You don’t want to miss out on their quality sandwiches, whoopie pies, and coffee.

Please look at the tabs on the top of the page for details about the tables and workshops. We’ve created event pages for the all of the workshops, but if you’d like to increase attendance and awareness about your workshop, feel free to help us get the word out about your workshop.

Thanks for supporting the Richmond Zine Fest! Come on out to learn about zines and discover more zines to read.

Reminders: In addition to the RVA Zine Fest on Saturday, we have pre and post events on our calendar. You can find out about our Pre-Zine Fest Reading & Potluck on Friday, Oct. 7th, and the Cyber Apocalypse show on Sunday, Oct. 9th, under the Upcoming Events tab.

Thank you to everyone who came out to dance with us last night! The festivities went from fundraiser to celebration once we realized that we’d exceeded our goal–the cost of the zine fest’s venue $1500. Last night thanks to the attendees, DJs Michael and Shmalan for giving us something to dance to, and Balliceaux, we raised $125. That amount brought our total to $1616, giving us a bit of a head start for next year. Thanks again for all the support. We hope to see you on October 8th at the Richmond Zine Fest, which is a free, all-ages event.

A huge thank you to local artist and zinester Oura for creating this fabulous poster for us!

We’re incredibly excited about this year’s fest, and there are other opportunities for you to be a part of it! If anyone is interested in volunteering on October 8th, we’d be happy to have the extra hands. Volunteer tasks may include: set-up, running the zine-making table, checking folks in, helping people carry in their stuff, clean-up, sitting at folks’ tables for them while they teach workshops or walk around, running the info table, etc. Please contact us at zine.fest [at] richmondzinefest.org if you’re interested in assisting and would like more details.

Thanks to everyone who attended and helped us raise money for this year’s fest. We couldn’t have done it without you all, and the readers and the bands: Stacey Randolph, Elizabeth Albrecht, Danny Rathbun, Katerina Charalambidis, Lobo Marino, Black Girls, and Long Arms. And of course, thanks again to Strange Matter for providing the space and the hospitality.

MUCHAS GRACIAS to everyone who came out and supported Richmond Zine Fest last night! The performers Lobo Marino, Black Girls, Long Arms, and all of our readers who bravely read in front of a crowd unfamiliar with zines–Stacey of LIPS Richmond, Elizabeth, Katerina, and last but certainly not least, Danny, have our sincerest gratitude. Thanks to Strange Matter for being so awesome and accommodating, and we’re already looking forward to planning a bigger and better collaboration between the music and zine scenes in RVA. I’m currently rifling through all the pictures of last night to share with everyone, so expect a picture post pretty soon.

Last night’s event exceeded our expectations for attendance, and we raised $537 between entry cover and table donations (the screenprinted patches and canvas bags were a hit!), so THANK YOU in every language in existence. We’re closer to the amount needed for the venue space and optimistic about not holding this year’s Zine Fest curbside in possibly rainy, windy weather (the archnemesis of finite paper goods), which brings us to our next fundraising event….

You have until September 29th to polish your dancing shoes and practice your moves for Dancezine Queen at Balliceaux. DJs Mike and Allen will premiere the BEARD dance party with ALL VINYL punk, new wave, indie, dance, and queercore music. More details will be revealed… including a special event mini-zine flyer!

Calling in-state and out-of-state zinesters: contact us at richmondzinefest[at]yahoo[dot]com if you’d like to read at our 2nd Annual Night Before Zine Fest Potluck & Reading at the Wingnut, October 7th at 7p.m. This is a good event for first time zine readers, especially.

Richmond Zine Fest will be held Oct. 8, 2011 at the Gay Community Center of Richmond. Check back for more details about the Zine Fest and other related events this fall as we raise funds to keep tabling fees low. We plan this event because we love zines and the people who make them and read them. <3

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks here in Richmond, VA, and many of our organizers may be without power or with limited internet access. However, we’re still on for the Richmond Zine Fest 2011 Benefit Show with Long Arms, Black Girls, and Lobo Marino performing! We’re also very excited to have zine readings by Danny Rathbun, Elizabeth Albrecht, Alan Webb, Stacey Randolph, and Katerina Charalambidis!

DanceZine Queen Dance Party for the RVA Zine Fest at Balliceaux. It’s the PREMIERE of DJs Mike and Allen’s BEARD dance party, which is ALL VINYL punk, new wave, indie, dance, and queercore music! Dance with us Thursday September 29th, 10:30 p.m. This event is 21 & up, but there is no cost. It is one of our fun-fundraisers, so we’ll be accepting donations for this year’s fest and selling screenprinted patches and canvas bags, and of course, zines!

We’ve also received a lot of inquiries about whether or not we’re having the Pre-Zine Fest Potluck and Reading this year, and it’s on! Friday, October 7th, the night before the Richmond Zine Fest, we will feast and read some zines at the Wingnut (2005 Barton Avenue, Richmond, VA). Please contact richmondzinefest[at]yahoo[dot]com, if you’re interested in participating in the reading. It’s a very casual event and free, but please bring a dish or non-alcoholic drink to share. The Wingnut is an all-ages, sober space. Check the Facebook event page for more details!

Last but not least: the listing of tablers for 2011 has been updated. We had a bit of a delay with this week’s update due to Irene. If you’re interested in tabling or hosting a workshop, please register soon! We have a few amazing workshops registered so far, but if anyone is interested and/or able to lead a zine-related workshop, specifically, please do so!

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For General Questions and Media Enquiries:

zine.fest@richmondzinefest.org

Want to help Richmond Zine Fest? All donations go toward the cost of a renting a space for the annual event and printing for promotions. We rely on donations to keep fees for participating in full-day event affordable for in-state and out-of-state participants.